Review: G.L.O.W. – 'Pain & Suffering'

G.L.O.W.
'Pain & Suffering'
SELF-RELEASED

General Language of Oscillating Wisdom, or simply G.L.O.W. the ebm project of South African musician Richard Wheeler returns with album number three in the form of 'Pain & Suffering'. The musicians previous two outings, 'Emotions' and 'Myths And Legends' displayed a lot of potential with a strong sense of melody and and all round dance-friendly execution that were hampered by some less than great production. Album number three sees Wheeler attempting to cement his presence and deliver a critical strike that takes aim at the international scene.

As with the previous albums Wheeler has improved on what came before, with a sound that definitely packs more punch and even throws in some noise elements to add a bit more in the way of an industrial and aggrotech sound to the album.

Songs such as 'Hate Crime', 'Killer Of The White Rhino', 'Pay The Price', and 'Taking Chances' best personify the strongest moments of the album with their pleasing rhythmic frameworks over which Wheeler constructs confrontational but catchy industrial.

Unfortunately though there are issues here, mainly with the vocals as on songs such as 'Acceptance', 'Asylum Of Darkness', 'Bullying=Violence' and 'My Destiny' they just don't fit quite right, and in some cases sound way to high in the mix, giving the songs a self-conscious karaoke sound. It's a shame as despite the rough production style, musically there is some great work here.

'Pain & Suffering' isn't quite the leap forward that G.L.O.W. should be making at this juncture. Even though musically Wheeler continues to improve, once again the production lets things down. There is still a lot of potential, but it seems as though the time would be right to let someone else take the reigns on the final polishing and bring out the best in his work.  

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Review: G.L.O.W. – 'Emotions' / 'Myths And Legends'

G.L.O.W.
'Emotions' / 'Myths And Legends'
SELF-RELEASED

G.L.O.W. AKA General Language of Oscillating Wisdom is the solo musical vehicle of South African artist Richard Wheeler. With its feet firmly in the ebm genre, G.L.O.W. is crammed full of melodic synth leads and big dance friendly beats but maintains a darker electro-industrial edge throughout. With two albums under his belt so far in the forms of 'Emotions' and 'Myths And Legends', Wheeler is steadily building his presence not only in his native scene, but also further afield.

'Emotions' is Wheeler's first full length outing under the G.L.O.W. moniker. Recalling acts such as Icon Of Coil, Grendel and VNV Nation songs such as 'Anger', 'Find A Way Out', 'Levitate', 'Perpetuation' and 'Plastic' provide the album with a solid backbone of strong rhythmically pleasing ebm. There is always an experimental edge to the tracks as well with Wheeler throwing in industrial, trip-hop, synthpop and even dubstep elements into the tracks to keep things fresh.

It's a fairly solid album with some interesting musical directions followed. But it is let down by the production, which is flat and very rough. And that is a major shame as 'Emotions', as a first outing displays a lot of promise.

Fast-forward to 'Myths And Legends' and we see wheeler pushing a far more polished product in order to solidify his presence. Again the influences of Icon Of Coil, Grendel and VNV Nation are plain to here across songs like 'Aigamuchab', 'Flying Dutchman (Final Quest)', 'Impundulu', 'Mafeking Terrace' and 'Yisipoki'. There are even a few world music influences thrown in that really elevate the quality of the song writing.

Again the quality of the production is an issue. Although there is a noticeable improvement over 'Emotions', it is still not as strong as it could be. In particular the way the vocals are mixed doesn't sit right and sometimes the top end of the tracks just swamps the rest of the mix. However as a natural progression from the first album 'Myths And Legends' is a step in the right direction with its stronger song-writing and slicker execution.

G.L.O.W. may still be making its first steps as an act, but across both 'Emotions' and 'Myths And Legends' there is a strong sense of the individuality of Wheeler's sound and a noticeable progression in the quality of the songs. Held back only by the limited production, there is a lot of potential on display here that will hopefully be realised on a third outing.  

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Introducing... G.L.O.W.

"I was drawn to and inspired by the strange, eccentric & eclectic style of the Goth culture and so began creating songs that examined the darker side of the human condition." 

Name of band: G.L.O.W.

Members: Richard Wheeler (Vocals & Synths)

Year formed: 2008

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

G.L.O.W., an acronym standing for General Language of Oscillating Wisdom, was created by the South African sound engineer Richard Wheeler. Inspired by his studies in sound engineering and the Goth scene in South Africa, Richard created an ebm project called G.L.O.W. exploring concepts of haunting, internalised pain, challenges and personal experiences through music. In 2011, G.L.O.W. gained local exposure when Richard dj'd at a bi-monthly event in Johannesburg

called Dark Noise when he was asked to play his personal material, and between 2012 and 2013, G.L.O.W gained international exposure when Dj Deadbeatz-Kevin aka AT0SHIMA 3RR0R remixed the track Aigamuchab which was followed by Man Bullet’s remix of Aigamuchab & The Phantom Wagon.
In 2013, Richard won the tune signature competition called 'Bring The Oontz 2013' which was used for Coma-Music Magazine’s The Oontzcast. During this period, The Oontzcast aired his tracks Flying Dutchman (Final Quest), Hai-Uri & his remix of AT0SHIMA 3RR0R’s track 'My

Smile'. In 2014, Hazzard of Darkness Radio & Aggro Driver ’81 began broadcasting his music.


Intravenous Magazine: Who are you and how did the band/project come to be formed?

My name is Richard Wheeler. I am the creator of the E.B.M. Project G.L.O.W. I was drawn to and inspired by the strange, eccentric & eclectic style of the Goth culture and so began creating songs that examined the darker side of the human condition.


IVM: How would you describe your sound/style, and how did you arrive at it?

I would describe my sound/style as Industrial Electronic. I arrived at this genre through experimentation with various sounds & techniques.


IVM: Who and what are your primary influences both musical and non-musical?

The bands that primarily influenced my music were VNV Nation, Combichrist, Covenant, Assemblage 23, Unter Null & Grendel whereas my non-musical influence was the South African Goth scene itself.


IVM: Do you perform live and if so where can we see you perform in the near future?

I haven’t performed live yet but, it’s in the pipeline. I am first going to perform in Pretoria which is the Gothic capital of South Africa and then, go to Cape Town & Durban.


IVM: What is your current release and where is it available from?

My current release is 'Myths & Legends'. It is available on iTunes, Amazon & Routenote Direct.


IVM: What have been the highlights of your career so far?

So far, the highlights of my career have been:

1) Winning the signature tune competition for 'Bring The Oontz 2013' at Coma-Music Magazine in the USA.

2) Having my music played via online radio stations such as Oontzcast (USA), Aggrodriver ’81 (USA) & Hazard of Darkness Radio (Germany).


IVM: What are your plans fro the future?

G.L.O.W.’s first live performance, creating music videos for my tracks & to travel the Goth scene worldwide.


IVM: Finally, is there anything that you would like to add?

Yes, here is where you can listen to my music:

iTunes  

Amazon 

Routenote Direct


Links:

Twitter

Youtube

Reverbnation (OfficialSite)

Soundcloud

Vampire Freaks 

If you would like to see your band featured in the 'Introducing...' section, please click HERE to find out more!  

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